Drake Chronicles: 03 Out for Blood (8 page)

“I saw that many coming in through the back,” an eleventh-grade girl, stil in her pink pajamas, offered. “From the gardens.”

“What the hel is going on?” I shoved my hair back into its ponytail.

“It does seem rather sophisticated for the
Hel-Blar
,” Jason muttered as we rounded the corner and came up against the wooden panel door. “Let’s go,” he cal ed out to the other students. “I’l take point.”

“But they’re outside too,” one of the ninth-grade boys said.

“We can’t stay here,” I told him. “Anyway, the tunnel leads far enough away, near the road and the van parked under the wil ow trees.”

“That broken-down, rusted old thing?”

“It only looks broken down,” I said grimly. “And there are two more vans hidden deeper in the woods. Now move.”

“Don’t argue, Joshua,” Lia said, shoving him to get him going. Her hands were trembling and her hairline was damp with sweat, but she was keeping it together. I turned my back to them, watching for
Hel-Blar
. We could hear their footsteps creaking through the ceiling. The old wooden floorboards were meant to be creaky like that, to teach us how to move quietly and give us fair warning if someone was sneaking around.

The light pouring through the windows was almost blinding. It should weaken them, but if they were in a battle frenzy they could stil do a considerable amount of damage before they realized they should retreat. The secret passageway door slammed open. I was stil guarding the rear so I had to look over my shoulder when I heard Kieran’s terse voice.

“Exit’s blocked,” he said.

“Crap,” I muttered. “Sophie, take my position,” I said, turning to stare at Kieran.

He was in regulation cargos, a strap of stakes over his good shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

“Talk later.”

“Bet your ass,” I muttered. “And what do you mean the exit’s blocked?”

“Dead end, Buffy,” Quinn said, coming out of the passageway behind Kieran. He looked just as gorgeous as ever, even covered in dust. His hair was loose, his eyes blue as fire.

I gaped at him. “What the hel are you doing here?”

“We came to rescue you.” He grinned at me as if we were alone at a candlelit dinner, his fangs gleaming like ivory daggers.

“You do realize you’re in a
vampire hunter
school, right?”

“He’s a vampire!” The eleventh-grade floor monitor flung a stake at Quinn. Quinn snarled, leaning to the right until his torso was practical y paral el to the floor. The stake thudded into the wal .

“Stand down!” I yel ed as Kieran stepped in front of Quinn. “He’s a Drake! And an al y.”

There was a startled pause, then grumbling and frantic whispers.

“You know him?” Jason stared at me as if I’d just grown an extra head.

“Kieran, you’re fraternizing with the enemy now?” Sophie snapped.

“He’s a vampire,” Simon muttered. He was in eleventh grade now and already covered in scars. And he was built like a big blond Viking. “What are we waiting for?”

“He’s a Drake,” I repeated. “And Hart’s signed a treaty with them so stand the hel down or I wil put you down.”

“It’s not right, is al I’m saying. In case you two haven’t noticed, we kil vampires.

Kind of under attack right now.”

Kieran snorted. “I’m not going to let you kil my girlfriend’s brother, so get over it.”

“You real y
are
dating a vampire?” Sophie goggled at him. “Dude.” I stood very pointedly next to Kieran, blocking Quinn. He was close enough that I could feel the coolness of his body, the noticeable absence of his breath on the back of my neck. It should have creeped me out. I was kind of surprised that it didn’t.

“Look, could we debate the bigotry of this organization at some other time?” I bit out. “Quinn’s not our problem right now. As Simon pointed out, the
Hel-Blar
are.” I lifted my chin, glaring down at everyone. “And Kieran outranks us al , so shut up and fol ow orders or I’m handing out demerits.”

“Can you do that now?” Kieran whispered at me.

“I have no idea,” I hissed back.

“Okay, listen up, people,” Kieran raised his voice so that it was al gravel y and impressive. I wasn’t particularly impressed since we’d grown up together and I’d force-fed him mud pies when we were little, but it seemed to work on everyone else. Lia actual y sighed.

Only a thirteen-year-old vampire hunter would get a crush in the middle of a vampire attack.

I was a little bit proud of her actual y.

“The tunnel exit is no good,” Kieran continued. “We had to barricade it behind us and set fires to keep the
Hel-Blar
from using it. Someone’s tipped them off about it.

That’s not our concern right now. Our only goal is to take as many out as possible and stay alive in the process. Don’t be a hero or I’l have Hunter take you down.

That said, the lights should keep the worst of them away. In the meantime, I want everyone bunkered in the tenth-grade common room. It’s the easiest one to defend and the windows are barred.” That had less to do with protection and more to do with a prank Kieran and his friends had apparently pul ed in tenth grade.

“What are you waiting for?” Kieran shouted as the
Hel-Blar
came down the stairs.

“Go! Monitors on perimeter,” he added, though they were wel trained enough to do it anyway. I stayed where I was.

“Hunter, go,” Kieran said, drawing a stake.

“Give me a break.” I took out my own stake and stepped aside just enough to keep Quinn out of my way and vice versa. “Your arm’s busted. You need me.” Kieran didn’t have the time to argue with me. He couldn’t have changed my mind anyway. He was the closest thing to a brother I had and I wasn’t about to leave him behind. Not when the other students were plenty wel protected now. And while I trusted that Quinn was a good fighter, he was dangerously cocky too.

Three
Hel-Blar
came from the top floor and another two from our right. Quinn laughed before throwing himself at them. He actual y laughed.

“Is he insane?” I asked, flinging a stake at one of the
Hel-Blar
on the right.

“Pretty much. Duck!”

I ducked. Kieran’s stake whizzed over my head and pinned the second vampire to the wal . Another stake finished him off. I held my breath until the ash settled.

Breathing in dead vampire dust is just as gross as it sounds.

We’d dispatched them al when Quinn turned back to us, grinning. “That was fun.”

“You’re—” I cut myself off as the shadow of a smal er, more cunningly hidden
Hel-Blar
dropped from the ceiling ledge. She landed behind Quinn, every fang exposed.

“Quinn, down!”

Quinn dropped into a crouch, revealing a stake in each hand. Before he could spin and jab up with his weapons, I threw a pepper egg. He blinked at it with the kind of astonishment that would have been funny in any other circumstance. The black-painted egg-shaped container was thin and made to break on impact. When it struck the last
Hel-Blar
in the face, it splashed a combination of ground glass, cayenne pepper, and Hypnos into her face. She recoiled, screeching and clawing at her red, watering eyes. One of Quinn’s stakes pierced her heart and finished the job.

We joined Kieran on the next landing and stood there for a long moment. The only sound was Kieran and I panting. The house was quiet.

“I think that was the last of them,” Kieran said final y. “I’l go up and do a sweep.

You guys watch the front and back doors.”

I led Quinn down to the end of the staircase. I stood on the last step, able to see not only the front door but right through the broken windows to the lawn. He stood next to me on the ground, facing the other direction, toward the back door. My one step advantage made us almost the same height. Our shoulders touched, the banister between our bodies. Adrenaline was stil flooding through me, making me feel inexplicably like giggling.

“You guys throw eggs now?” Quinn asked, raising an eyebrow. “What the hel ’s that about?”

“It’s a ninja thing,” I shrugged. “We’ve only started using it recently. One of our history teachers is into that stuff.”

“You’re kinda scary, Buffy.” He winked, then looked suddenly thoughtful.

“What?” I asked.

“I was just wondering if you’d consider teaching Lucy some moves.”

“Lucy? Your sister’s best friend?”

He nodded. “She needs some extra tricks up her sleeve. Our family is proving to be a bit of a liability and she’s only human.” He flicked me a glance. “No offense.”

“None taken,” I returned drily.

“You know what I mean. She’s vulnerable. And her parents wil be back soon and she’l go home. We’re just a little worried.”

He smel ed like smoke and incense. I probably shouldn’t be noticing that. What was wrong with me? I wasn’t usual y the type to get al flustered over a good-looking guy. Even a
really
good-looking guy who kind of resembled Orlando Bloom. Plus, he saw me as a fel ow soldier. I’d been fighting next to guys long enough to know the look. I tried not to sigh. It would have been a total y inappropriate reaction. I was a hunter. I was supposed to be cool under pressure.

“So, would you?” he asked again.

“What?” I gave myself a mental shake. “I guess it would be okay, if the headmistress approves.”

“Do you always do what you’re told?” he drawled.

I snorted. Flustered or not, I was stil me. “That’s what storybook vil ains always say to the girls to get them to do something stupid.” There was a pause before he chuckled, as if the sound surprised him. “I’l just take that as a yes.”

“I’m sure you usual y do.”

His grin widened and he nudged my shoulder companionably. “I like you, kid.” I tried not to groan out loud. I was as bad as Lia.

I had total y developed a crush during a vampire raid.

And he saw me the same way Kieran saw me—as a little sister.

I didn’t exactly have time to analyze the fact that I was crushing on a vampire.

Besides, anyone with eyebal s would crush on Quinn Drake.

Right now I was far too busy running up the stairs toward the screaming. Quinn was at my heels, cursing. “Hunter, wait. Let me go ahead.”

“Not a chance.” I ran faster. He was quicker, of course, being a vampire and al .

In fact, he was practical y a blur of color streaking past me. It didn’t seem fair. I worked my ass off to be as fast as I could, I ran, I practical y lived at the gym most mornings, and I had to put up with York. Al Quinn had to do was die.

Not exactly a viable option for me.

Chapter 9

•

Quinn

When I got to the common room, where the screaming had originated, it was quiet again. I waited for Hunter to catch up.

“So not fair,” she muttered, gasping for breath.

Kieran stepped into the hal way, grim-mouthed. “Man down. Wel , boy, anyway.”

“Is it bad? What happened?” Hunter brushed past him to see for herself.

The room was bright considering al the light reflecting through the windows. It was getting warm, too. Definite drawback to those UV bulbs; the students might be sunburned by morning. While they’d no doubt trade a peeling nose and heat blisters over getting eaten by a
Hel-Blar
, I, however, was feeling like I might cook right through. Sunlight wasn’t good for us. I wouldn’t burst into flame or anything dramatic like that, but I’d get weak and pass out.

In a school ful of vampire hunters.

No thanks.

I put on my sunglasses and flicked up the col ar of my shirt. The back of my neck already felt tender. In the center of the room, the students were huddled around a couch where a very skinny student was moaning. There was blood soaking his white T-shirt. I tried not to lick my lips. I didn’t think it would go over wel .

“Wil ,” Hunter said. “Shit. Was he …?” She trailed off, wincing. His shoulder looked bad, his shirt torn.

“He wasn’t bitten,” Kieran went to stand beside her.

I stayed by the door, watching the shadows in the hal and trying not to be distracted by the scent of so many humans in one room. If my stomach growled they’d probably stake me before I could explain it was an involuntarily reaction.

They craved donuts, I craved blood. It was just one of those things.

“The screaming came from the girl who found him. The blood’s from when he tripped and fel on his own knife.”

I snorted. They were shish kebabing themselves for us now. They may as wel offer themselves up on silver platters. Hunter shot me a look, as if she knew what I was thinking. I just shot her back a crooked grin. She wasn’t likely to apologize for accessorizing with stakes and I wasn’t going to apologize for my fangs.

“
Hel-Blar
tried to drink from him,” Kieran continued tersely. “Apparently got a mouthful before Wil got away.”

Her eyes widened. “Crap. Wil he turn? Are there marks?”

“I don’t think so. But no one can tel me for sure if there was any saliva or blood exchange. It was just a convenience feeding.”

“So he needs the infirmary,” Hunter said.

“There are some teachers on campus,” Kieran assured us. “But they’ve got their hands ful .”

“I’l take him,” she offered right away.

Kieran frowned. “Hunter, campus is crawling with
Hel-Blar
.”

“Duh. And you have to stay here. You’re the one with the actual rank; the rest of us are just students. Plus, you’ve only got one good arm.”

“Shit,” he grumbled. He knew she was right. “I don’t like it. It’s dangerous.” I didn’t like it either.

“Blah, blah, blah,” Hunter cut him off. “Are you going to hold my hand every time we’re out in the field?”

“There’s gratitude for you,” Kieran said.

She kissed his cheek. I was oddly glad it looked like the kind of kiss Solange might give me. Sister to brother. “I love you, stupid.”

“You too, idiot.”

“So get out of my way already.” She had to shove him. “Give him some space,” she told the others, trying to get through the clump of horrified students. “You’l be fine, Wil .”